La Tavola Marche Recipe Box

A local favorite here in Le Marche and especially at our farmhouse is pizza bianco or white pizza, because there is no sauce. There are many variations of this depending on where you live - but in our neck of the woods, it's made with thinly sliced potatoes, rosemary, dollops of ricotta, sea salt (& peperoncini) and a good drizzle of extra virigin olive oil. We serve this classic up every Thursday during our Summer Pizza Nights!!

A A recipe inspired by our travels to Spain and using what is found in our garden/locally in Italy. The roasted peppers and anchovies are a great start to your summer dinner or served it on crostini for lunch with a wedge of cheese! A note on anchovies: First if you think you are not a fan, try it again. This dish is not meant to be 'fishy' - it is the salty, brininess of the anchovies that perfectly compliment the roasted peppers (and they are even better with the smoky flavor from the grill!)

Roast the peppers in the oven, on the gas stove-top or better yet on the grill, blackening the skins of the peppers.
Then place the peppers in a bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap until cool.
Once cool remove the skins and seeds.
Slice into 1cm or 1/2 in strips.
Mince the garlic & tear up the herbs - adding both to the peppers.
Add your anchovy filets.
Season with salt & pepper.
Add the red wine vinegar & olive oil.
Mix and let sit for a few hours. (It gets better as it sits.)
Serve!
This will pair perfectly with crostini/crusty bread and a wedge of cheese!

This
is no alfredo sauce!! This quick and creamy (yet light enough for a hot
summer day) pine nut sauce pairs perfectly with homemade pasta. After
all the hard work of rolling your dough and making ravioli or cavatelli
(or orecchieti, etc.) why drown your delicate pasta in a rich heavy
sauce?!

Preperation
In
a blender or with an immersion blender puree the cream, salt &
pepper, nuts, nutmeg & cheese until its thick and mostly smooth.

In
a pan on low flame, heat oil. Place in garlic glove browning on all
sides. Once the pasta is cooked, strain the cooked pasta into the pan.
Remove the pan from heat and pour cream mixture over. Toss and adjust
the consistency with pasta water and taste. Place into serving dish and
top with a few extra pine nuts.

Traditionally this is a summer sauce made when the borlotti beans &
tomatoes are fresh but it's so heavy we prefer it in the fall and winter
using our jarred tomatoes & frozen beans. Locals add pork ribs to
the sauce adding extra flavor and resulting in a side dish of stewed
meat! This is a stick to your ribs sauce perfect for a cold Sunday!
Pairs great with any pasta shape/size but I prefer cavatelli for a full
fledged nap inducing lunch!

This recipe calls for two pots: 1 for the beans, 2 for the tomato sauce.
Make sure the pot for the tomato sauce is larger as we will add the
beans into the sauce later in the recipe.

Place the beans (either fresh or dried & then soaked) and sage in a
pot with plenty of water, in large pieces add: half the carrot, half the
leg of celery & half the onion. Bring everything to a boil, then
lower to a simmer. Allow to cook until the beans are tender. (Do NOT add
salt during this process.)

Finely dice the other half of the celery, carrot & onion. In the
larger pot, heat a few glugs of olive oil and add fine diced vegetables,
along with the garlic & a little salt & pepper. Sweat 10-12
minutes on low-low heat or until very soft without browning.

Next, raise the heat, add in your bones and brown on all sides, keep ’em moving in the pot so they don’t burn.

Add in your tomatoes, rosemary and another leaf of sage if your feeling
sporty. Bring up to a good simmer and then lower to a low slow simmer.
Allow to simmer for 30-35 minutes until it reduces by about a third and
becomes nice and thick. Stir it occasionally to make sure nothing is
sticking to the bottom.

Now here’s where the magic happens. Remove the chunks of vegetables from
the pot with beans. Add the cooked beans to the larger pot SAVING the
bean water. Bring the tomatoes & beans up to a simmer, adding a
little of the bean water to thin it out. Cook about 10 minutes on a low
low simmer, adjusting with a little bean water if it seems too thick.

To serve; fish out the rosemary sprig, garlic clove & sage leaves if
you can find them. Remove the meaty bones from the pot. (These can be
served alongside the pasta or as another course entirely.) Adjust your
seasoning with salt & pepper and toss with hot pasta. We pair it
with tagliatelle or cavatelli and finish with a drizzle of good
finishing oil - this is when you use the good stuff!

This
is one of the easiest pasta dough's to make and it doesn't need a
machine or any fancy equipment - just your thumb or a pearing
knife. Cavatelli pasta (or little caves) is traditionally from Molise & parts of Puglia. It is very similar to orecchietti (little ears), another pasta made with semolina (ground durum wheat or grano duro).
In southern Italy is where you will find most of these types of pasta
made with semolina and no egg in the
dough.

The
recipe for cavatelli varies greatly from region to region, village to
village. Below is the recipe that has yielded the most consistent
results for us - a soft delicate pasta that's not gummy. After all your
work in making fresh pasta you'll be happy to know that it freezes
wonderfully! Now on a random Wednesday night just pull out your homemade
fresh cavatelli, make a quick sauce and dinner is ready!

This
pasta pairs perfectly in the Spring with peas, borlotti, sage &
tomatoes in the Fall and norcina (sausage & cream) in the Winter!

You
can find videos on youtube all day on the technique for cutting &
forming the pasta. Below is a simple explanation. Stay tuned as we'll
film our own demo soon!!

In
a bowl mix the salt & both flours together, add in warm water
and mix with a fork. Dump onto a board and begin kneading. Adjust the
consistency as needed. The dough should have a firmness to it, not
mushy, however not as hard as a ball. Continue kneading, until you
have a nice smooth springy dough (8-10 minutes by hand). Wrap it in
plastic and allow to rest at least an hour.

Now go online and find a video!

Make a snake about the width of a pencil.
Cut into segments as long as your thumb is wide. …..
Now you can either use your thumb or a knife for this next step.

To begin shaping cavatelli, stick your
right thumb up and then turn hand so thumb is pointing left. Maintaining
even pressure, use thumb to push a piece of dough forward and up, like
an airplane taking off. The dough should spring up and form around the
curve of your thumb.

Use
a bench scraper or knife to transfer cavatelli
to a baking sheet covered in parchment paper and sprinkled with
semolina, making sure no pieces of pasta touch. Continue until all dough
is used. Let pasta dry slightly, 30-45 minutes. (You can then freeze in
a single layer. Once frozen place in plastic freezer bag and will keep
about a month.)

In a large pot, bring lightly salted water to a
rolling boil and drop in cavatelli. Boil the pasta. It should take about 4-6 min depending on the size of your cavatelli. Just keep taking one out and testing! Serve with the sauce of your choice.

This
is one vegetarian dish that even the die-hard meat eaters will enjoy!
The quality of your veggies will turn this from ordinary to amazing and
full of flavor. Its filling and incredible versatile based on the
vegetables and herbs you use. This veg stew is perfect over a boiled
potato or polenta. With the eggs from our hens, we love poaching an egg
and placing it atop this gorgeous garden stew, adding a little protein
and making it into more of a meal. Plus, eggs are hot right now!! Which
just
cracks us up (who comes up with these things?! By the way kale is out
and cauliflower is in!)

Remember
with simple dishes like this its important to use the best quality
ingredients. This is just the base for the veggies - use what you've got
/like/grow. Add in potatoes if you want, etc.

Garden Vegetable Stew
serves about 6

This is just the base for the veggies - use what you've got/like/grow. Add in potatoes if you want, etc.

Dice
all your vegetables in a large dice, keeping them separate. Since its a
stew the sizing isn’t exact. But don’t mix all the veggies together in a
bowl.

In a large heavy pot, with a little bit of olive
oil on medium high heat, sauté the onion for a few minutes. Season with
salt & pepper. Then remove from the pot. We are just looking to
start the onions cooking.

Repeat the same process, a
little bit of olive oil, salt & pepper, sauté for 2 minutes or
so and then remove, with each of the remaining vegetable except the
tomatoes.

Keep an eye on your pan heat - you don’t want
it too hot or too cool: too hot and they will burn your vegetables, too
cool and you’ll sweat instead of sauté the vegetables.

Then
return all the vegetables to the pot, together, along with the tomatoes
and your herbs (and capers/olives if you like). Bring the pot up to a
simmer and let slowly simmer until all the vegetables are tender. OR I
like to pop it in a 375 F/190 C degrees oven, uncovered for about 45
minutes to an hour or until the vegetables are soft and the liquid has
reduced some.

If
you like, poach an egg and place atop or serve with boiled potatoes or
grilled polenta. Makes a great hearty vegetarian dish. It will get
better as it sits in the fridge. Change up the vegetables as you like or
play with the spices.

A favorite way to keep veggies a bit longer into the season is a quick pickle - that great briny flavor with a crunch without the wait of a month or more for a proper pickle.

A Quick Pickle

Use any vegetables of your choice - carrots, greenbeans, peppers, onions, etc. Most often we use a mix of peppers, carrots and onions, sliced thin
water
strong vinegar like white wine, red wine or apple cider (don’t use a soft vinegar such as balsamic)
salt
fresh herbs/aromatics of your choice - thyme, rosemary, dill, peppercorn, cardamon, etc.
chili of your desired strength
honey or sugar
whole head of chopped garlic

This
is a ratio recipe. In a pot on medium heat, combine 1 part vinegar to 3
parts water. Add a couple tablespoons of honey/sugar, a couple
tablespoons of salt, aromatics, chili, etc. - everything BUT the
vegetables.

Once the sugar and salt are dissolved give it a
taste. Make sure its not too puckery or too bland - just nice and briny,
slightly acidic with a nice taste. Adjust as necessary with more salt,
water vinegar or sugar.

Once
soft but still with a crunch, shut off the heat and strain out the vegetables
and herbs (Do NOT throw out the liquid!!). Place on a baking sheet in
one flat layer and place in the fridge to cool.

Keep the pickling liquid/brine in the pot to cool as well.
Once
both the veggies and liquid are cool, place the veggies along with all
the garlic and herbs into a jar and cover with the liquid. Keep in the
fridge and it will be good for up to 2 weeks, getting better as it
sits.

This truly is the perfect lemon tart. "This is a throw back to culinary school days when we would practice making this tart endlessly. When done right, it's fantastic. I usually play it loose with the recipes but this one you must follow precisely. Not that it is difficult, just several steps involved...but well worth the effort."

Look for this one in the Autumn when we start back up our LIVE from ITALY: Online Cooking Classes!!

It can be made as a large tart or as individual tartlets.
The puckery lemon custard delivers a pure lemon flavor, perfect ending to any meal!

Sift the flour onto the work surface and make a well in the center.
Dice the butter and place it in the well, then work it with your fingertips until its very soft.
Sift the confectioners’ sugar on the the butter and add the salt, working it into the butter.
Add the egg yolks and mix well. Gradually draw in the flour and mix until completely incorporated/amalgamated. Add the vanilla extract.
Give the dough a turn or two.
Briefly kneed the dough and form into a disc. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate. (Dough will keep well refrigerated for several days if necessary.)

In a stainless steel pot, heat the lemon juice, butter and 150 g sugar over low heat until the butter has melted and the mixture comes to a gentle simmer (about 2 minutes).

Using a wire whisk, beat the eggs, egg yolks, and remaining 50 g sugar until the mixture is pale and light (about 4-5 minutes). Slowly pour half of the hot lemon juice mixture into the egg/sugar mixture to temper, beating until blending and fluffy.

Return the mixture to the saucepan containing remaining hot lemon mixture and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a spoon, until the mixture nearly starts to simmer - about 3 minutes.

Transfer the lemon cream to a metal bowl and place over a water bath to cool. (If not using immediately, lay a sheet of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the cream.)

When cool, spread the lemon cream evenly into the pastry shell. Smooth the top with a spatula. Place the tart back in the oven and bake for 5 minutes to set the filling slightly without coloring it.

Carefully remove the tart if made in a ring pan and let cool on a wire rack. Place in the fridge until the tart until the filling is firm. Remove from the fridge 10-15 minutes before serving.

A
gorgeous oven-free, gluten-free, no-bake dessert perfect for those hot
summer nights! This dessert has become a classic in our kitchen and
cooking classes
throughout stone fruit season. It's light & fresh, and even
after a long Italian
meal, everyone has room for a little peaches & cream!

It's
not only easy to make, but the ingredients are flexible; use white,
rosè or red wine (finish off that bottle of white that's been sitting in
the fridge for the last 2 nights...) The same with aromatics -
rosemary, thyme, lemon, lavender...whatever you've got on hand. (This is
why its so important to have an herb garden!)

With
a paring knife cut the fruit in half and remove the stone. If the
stone will not come away easily, make a shallow incision around the
stone and it will fall away once cooked.

Place the
fruit cut side down in a pan or pot that fits the fruit snugly. Add in
the aromatics with the sugar and top with wine until halfway up the
fruit. Cover with baking paper (parchment) and bring the pan up to a
medium simmer for 8-12 minutes total depending on the size of the fruit.
Give the peaches a turn on their backs after about 5 minutes and they
are done when a knife slips easily into the thickest part of the fruit.

Once
the peaches are cooked, remove from the pan and place on a plate to
cool. Return the pan to a low flame and reduce the wine until it becomes
a syrup. Give it a taste - if its a little tart, add a spoonful of
sugar. Be careful not to let this burn. Strain the syrup into a bowl
and allow to cool.

To serve: Quarter the peaches and
carefully remove the skins. Arrange on the plate and drizzle atop the
white wine syrup and a dollop of cream.

A
booze that's damn near biblical - not only because of its rich smooth
spicy flavor of walnuts, clove, vanilla and cinnamon but it must sit in
the sun for 40 days and 40 nights as the first step in making it! Pour a
glass and serve alongside creamy vanilla panna cotta or topped on
gelato for a decadent end to the meal.

A thriving local tradition is making
homemade liquor - from grappa infused with fruits & herbs, to visner
& visciolino (cherry liquors), nocino (walnuts) & many more! Whenever offered a homemade digestivo
(after dinner drink)
you must oblige! It is homemade & thus a gift from the
house....sometimes a wonderfully delicious drink that you
are beggin for more and other times...WOW! absolute firewater! In Italy
it's easy to find 95%-97% pure alcohol at any where from the hardware
store to the "Costco" surplus shopping stores. And with a walnut grove a
kilometer down the road from our farmhouse, this has become a classic
in our house.

Picking walnuts with my cousin

I 've told the story before but many of my homemade liquors are recipes from the wonderful Mamma Mochi teaching me her
age old recipes of making digestivi. She is my mentor of sorts when it comes to all things 'spirits'! As usual, the recipe varies depending on where you live.

This Nocino
recipe for example uses whole green nuts and MUST sit in the sun
& stirred for 40 days, then brought in to sit in the dark for
another 30 days before you filter. After that, the first pour is
traditionally on Christmas Eve! ...maybe I'll leave a little out for
Babbo Natale this year!

Mix together well.
Let sit in sun for 40 days - stirring & mixing the sugar each day.
Then let sit for another month in cool dark storage.
Filter & bottle.
You
can let the nocino age if you would like - some prefer to drink
immediately & those shelf the bottle for 2 years or more!
Traditionally, the first glass should be poured on Christmas Eve.

There is also a recipe for the 'used nuts' with Marsala ...coming soon!

Rustic Tart or Crostata: Traditionally made with marmalade, this rustic
tart is found kept under a kitchen towel in most homes in our area.
With strawberries in abundance this time of year, we use fresh fruit
instead of jam.This recipe is enough to make two 9-in/22cm tarts with lattice. Use what you have for the tart pans, we use round pizza pans.

This
is literally one you use with whatever you have - and/or the vegetable
that looks good/in season at the moment. Change it up with the season -
you can add pine nuts, leave out the
tomatoes, leave out the white wine and use a different acidic
ingredient. Use this as an outline and make it your own.

In
a pan, over low heat, warm about 4 glugs of olive oil and gently brown
the garlic on all sides. In the bowling salted water you have going for
your pasta, blanch your peas until they are half cooked. Remove from
water and add to the pan with garlic & olive oil.

Raise
the heat to med-high, add in your handful of cherry tomatoes. Give a
stir, season with salt & pepper. Once your tomatoes start to
cook down and slough the skin, add in 2 tablespoons of white wine. Allow
the wine to cook out for 1-2 minutes, add in the chicken stock and
allow to cook down. Shut off the heat. Give the sauce a taste and adjust
your salt & pepper. Its now ready for your pasta.

Once
the pasta is near cooked, return the pan to med heat. Drain the pasta
directly from the bowling water into the pan with the sauce. With a
spoonful of pasta water, incorporate the pasta into the sauce. Remove
from the heat, make sure there is a little bit of moisture in the pan,
adjust with pasta water. Now add a handful of parmesan cheese and
incorporate into the pasta. Serve.

Change it
up with the season - you can add pine nuts, leave out the tomatoes,
leave out the white wine and use a different acidic ingredient. Use this
as an outline and make it your own.

This is literally one you use with whatever you have - and/or the vegetable that looks good/in season at the moment. Change it up with the season - you can add pine nuts, leave out the
tomatoes, leave out the white wine and use a different acidic
ingredient. Use this as an outline and make it your own.

For this recipe, we will use peas as our ‘veg of the moment’ since it’s Spring.

In a pan, over low heat, warm about 4 glugs of olive oil and gently brown the garlic on all sides. In the bowling salted water you have going for your pasta, blanch your peas until they are half cooked. Remove from water and add to the pan with garlic & olive oil.

Raise the heat to med-high, add in your handful of cherry tomatoes. Give a stir, season with salt & pepper. Once your tomatoes start to cook down and slough the skin, add in 2 tablespoons of white wine. Allow the wine to cook out for 1-2 minutes, add in the chicken stock and allow to cook down. Shut off the heat. Give the sauce a taste and adjust your salt & pepper. Its now ready for your pasta.

Once the pasta is near cooked, return the pan to med heat. Drain the pasta directly from the bowling water into the pan with the sauce. With a spoonful of pasta water, incorporate the pasta into the sauce. Remove from the heat, make sure there is a little bit of moisture in the pan, adjust with pasta water. Now add a handful of parmesan cheese and incorporate into the pasta. Serve.

Change it up with the season - you can add pine nuts, leave out the tomatoes, leave out the white wine and use a different acidic ingredient. Use this as an outline and make it your own.

This radish & strawberry salad certainly strays from the traditional
dishes of Le Marche however is a perfect example of the philosophy "if
it grows together, it goes together." The crunchy peppery radishes
compliment the sweet juicy strawberries, add a bit of young spring onion
(and if we were in the States, cilantro!) for a surprising and
delicious spring salad. The recipe is inspired by our friends from Perennial Plate!

In
a bowl combine radishes, strawberry & onion. Season with salt &
pepper and a light drizzle of olive oil. Very gently (with your hands)
toss the salad to incorporate all the ingredients.To serve: plate and drizzle a few drops of balsamic over the top, serve immediately.

Note: Anything from spring will work in this dish, fresh fava beans or peas, chive, etc - if it grows together it goes together.

A thriving local tradition in Le
Marche is making homemade liquors/liqueurs to be served after dinner as a digestivo. Using pure alcohol or grappa infused
with fruits & herbs such as visciolino (wild cherry), nocino
(walnut vanilla), brugnolino (wild plum/sloe) & many more!

Visciole is a tart wild cherry found in abundance in the Candigliano Valley of Northern Le Marche and its leaves make the most delicious & delicate after dinner cherry digestivo.Visciolino is made with 100 leaves of the cherry tree + 10 leaves from a peach tree along with red wine, sugar & pure alcohol. The recipe below is
simple & passed to me by our dear neighbor Mama Mochi, traditionally
made at the end of May/early June.